Thursday, October 20, 2011

"Paranormal Activity 3" Review

Reigning king of the "Gotcha!" moment, Paranormal Activity is back – and though the premise may have worn thin, (how many compulsive videographers can one extended family have?) its minimalist scare tactics are as effective as ever. Scream for scream, the theater experience is without rival; hushed gasps, nervous tittering, and shrieks of surprise are empirical evidence of the films' effectiveness. Hence the backlash when Paranormal Activity hit home video: these movies cater to a crowd.

A prequel of sorts, Paranormal Activity 3 rewinds the franchise to 1988, illuminating the origins of the Presence that ran amok in parts one and two. Helmed by Catfish directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the flick treads familiar territory, but keeps the audience on its toes. One of the major criticisms leveled against Oren Peli's original was its predictable cycle of daytime exposition and midnight scares. Rinse and repeat.

Screenwriter Christopher B. Landon, who also wrote the underwhelming Paranormal Activity 2, does a better job this time of pitching the odd changeup. With an omnipresent atmosphere of unease, no moment feels entirely safe. And it goes without saying that the freaky stuff is much more explicitly freaky. Rest assured the Rey family doesn't own a pool, let alone a cleaning robot.

Probably the single most brilliant technical addition to the Paranormal Activity repertoire is the oscillating camera. Panning ominously between kitchen and living room, the simple mechanic works like a suspense machine. Joost and Schulman certainly get their money's worth out of the gimmick, milking it for some of their whitest white-knuckle moments. Fashioned from a tabletop fan, the device is a perfect metaphor for the franchise itself: cheap, homemade, effective.

But for ingenuity and inventiveness, the originalis still tops. For all its merciless suspense, Paranormal Activity 3 falls back on a few too many false alarms ("Gotcha!") and bad payoffs, and offers no real innovations in imagery. From Poltergeist to The Exorcist, it's easy to tell where the directors pulled inspiration, almost copy-and-pasting classic moments into the found footage aesthetic.

Then again, anyone expecting real innovation from the third Paranormal Activity film is barking up the wrong tree. Part of the fun is how loosely defined the abilities of the otherworldly antagonist are. It possesses, communicates, and manipulates. But wait, there's more! Paranormal Activity 3 plays like a grab bag of horror ideas and iconography. Like any grab bag, not everything inside is interesting.

For one, handheld footage plays a more prominent role than ever, which strains the believability of some key sequences. Then there's hokey filler like the "Bloody Mary" urban legend, which squarely fills the vacancy left by the Ouija board on the Paranormal Activity blueprint. And who could forget Randy (Dustin Ingram) and his transparent, annoying attempts at comic relief?

Paranormal Activity 3 doesn't reinvent the franchise. It's not even the best Paranormal Activity film. It doesn't need to be. Its aim is to refine the series' mechanics and reinvigorate audience interest, and it succeeds. So what's next? Likely what keeps Paramount executives up at night is how to squeeze the supernatural saga for every penny it's worth. Long live the reigning king of "Gotcha!"

About Us

Colin George

Captain & Host

Colin graduated from film school into a world shockingly devoid of film-related jobs. He makes the best of this curious anomaly by lending his expertise to the internet. God help this poor, misguided fool.

Brian Crawford

Local Favorite

The Kremlin with gremlins named Melvin/ Who all want to be local fave/ Were sent to the grave/ For they misbehaved/ And I was given the title.

Kevin Mauer

Studio Manager

Kevin is a guy. He likes reading, writing, and reading about writing, but he HATES writing about reading. He also likes movies and is quite prone to watching films.

Jonathan Mauer

Adventurer Extraordinaire

After spending six months hiking the Appalachian Trail, normal life is dull by comparison. Jonathan wards off the dulldrums as a cash register jockey for the populous chain REI, working the third shift at QVC, and watching TV shows (that may or may not be Law and Order) while probably drinking excessive amounts of alcohol (with or without Suman). Sometimes he writes and takes pictures.

Suman Allakki

Knucklehead

Suman has inhabited six countries, is not a citizen of the US, but IS a licensed pilot. Suman can be found watching bad movies on Xbox (via Sonic's Netflix account), running marathons, drinking excessive amounts of water, and avoiding the law. Currently moving back to glorious Princeton, NJ.

Sonic Kim

Co-host (when applicable)

A pseudo student in Drexel University's Film and Video program, Francisco Sonic (yes, that's his real middle name) Kim is currently taking a hiatus from film school to, well, make films. Sometimes he says funny things.

Tyler Drown

Friend of the Show

Tyler Drown was born some time ago and learned to be cool through hard work and perseverance. One day he realized some films are more enjoyable and better made than others. In 2009 he was granted a degree in International Business and Entrepreneurship and a minor in World History & Politics. Fresh from Amman, Jordan, Tyler is now making a life for himself in New York City.

Brian Johanson

Big Apple Corespondent

Some call him haggard. Others, a demon in the sack. To some he is known as the guy watching them sleep as he mutters to himself. But most people just call him Brian.

Maggie Ruder

nth Timer

Maggie does a wicked good impression of a filmmaker. Currently she works as the Design Director of the Philadelphia Film Society/Festival, as well as doing graphic, environmental and production design for various organizations in and around Philadelphia. She enjoys free paper samples, reading in the hammock and long walks in third world countries. Maggie will be in the Philippines for the next year working for the art department of a feature film.

Sometimes she presses buttons and turns knobs when Micah isn't around. Other times she is suckered into hosting when everyone else is busy. When not dwelling on how woefully poor she is, Laura spends her time playing with her parrot, teaching herself about podcasting, and delving into the wonderful world of post sound.

Micah Haun

Master of Sound

When he isn't making sweet animations or foul comments about Apple products, Micah is commander of the Almighty Firepod, keeping voices from peaking, volume from rising, and our love of films from getting just a little bit TOO loud.